Managing Business Activities to Achieve Results – RDI Module Assignment

Task 1 – Understand the importance of business processes in delivering outcomes based upon business goals and objectives

One of the best ways to align business processes with the goals and objectives of the business is to develop an appropriate organisational structure that will determine how various functions interact to achieve those organizational goals and objectives (Peterson et al, 1997). The various functions of the new business include Web development, advertising, coaching, and human resource management. These functions include a group of tasks that contribute to the overall objectives of the new business. As shown in the diagram above, each function has tasks with common characteristics. These functions carry out inter-related processes in order to achieve the organisational objectives.

The business processes of the new business are categorized into four functions in form of a Matrix organisational structure. Each of the four functions is headed by a manager, and all functional managers are answerable directly to a single Chief Executive Officer. The processes used to perform tasks are interrelated; hence different functions are also inter-related. Cross-functional disciplines co-exist in such a way that staff from one functional department work with staff from another functional department to undertake a single project. In the new business, inter-functional relationships and cross-functional collaboration are important in achieving the objectives of the business.

The main projects of the business include Human Resource Management, Coaching, advertising, and web development. These projects are headed by a project manager. The main processes or tasks of each function are performed by staff from different functions. For instance, the hiring staff works with the advertising staff to carry out both human resources and advertising functions. Similarly, members of the coaching staff collaborate with the IT staff to develop a website for the business. These cross-functional collaborations and functional relationships ensure that the various activities work together harmoniously to achieve the main objectives of the business (Peterson et al, 1997).

Business process transformation is a form of organisational change strategy used to enhance flexibility and agility of processes within organisations (Kaplan & Norton, 2001). It ensures that the organisation responds appropriately to the changing environment. Therefore, business process transformation is an important strategy for aligning the businesses processes and objectives. In this case, the business process transformation is used to make changes to the processes which are not going according to the expected standards in order to achieve the objectives of the business. For example, if the number of pupils to be coached increase from other neighbouring schools, the process of hiring staff should be changed to ensure that more staff members are hired to meet the increasing demand. Furthermore, if the current advertising processes are not able to attract enough customers, it should be changed in order to reach more customers.

All the business processes of the new business including advertising, hiring of staff, web development and coaching processes are sets of logically related tasks which are carried out to meet common objectives. For example, the hiring process involves related tasks such as advertising, screening applications, interviewing, and selecting staff. The main objective for these processes is to find the most qualified staff in order to provide effective coaching lessons for the clients. If the hiring process does not attract good staff, the process is changed through the process transformation to attract the required staff.

Quality gateway is a point where all project aspects must pass before they become part of the project (Kaplan & Norton, 2001). It is used to test project requirements to ensure that they are followed appropriately, and that the project is not going out of its intended direction. For the new business, quality gateways will be provided by each functional manager to ensure that all functions work according to the intended plan. For instance, the quality gateway for the web development process is an attractive and customer-oriented website that can have over a minimum of one thousand views daily.

Task 2: Developing and Implementing Operational Plans

Aims and Objectives

The aim of the business is to become the leading coaching business in the area after five years in terms of customer base and market share. This can be achieved through proper planning and developing appropriate customer-focused strategies. Another aim of the business is to train at least 1,000 children and enable them to win football matches in various tournaments within the first year of coaching.

One of the primary objectives of the business is to achieve 15% net profit margin after two years. This objective is SMART because it is specific, measurable (15%), attainable, and time-bound (2 years). The first year will experience a lot of expenses including costs of web development, hiring staff, establishing facilities and enrolling children to the coaching classes. Another objective is to reach 10 schools and a customer base of 1,000 pupils within the first year. This is attainable because there are a lot of schools around which may become a good source of children who need coaching.

In order to achieve the objectives of the business, appropriate planning tools can be used to develop operation plans. The planning process will involve three steps: developing an appropriate work breakdown structure, estimating the effort required, and scheduling activities to be carried out (Burke, 2010). Some of the planning tools that can be used to develop a proper operation plan include Gantt Charts, Work Breakdown Structures, PERT Charts, Critical Path Analysis and Network Diagrams. The new Coaching business uses the Gantt chart.

Gantt Charts will be used for the operation plan of this business. The first step in developing a Gantt chart is to identify the tasks involved in various business processes of the organization (Burke, 2010). Some of the tasks identified for the new coaching business include: acquiring new facilities, hiring new staff, advertising, coaching, and web development in that order. The next step is to determine the effort required in each activity including the number of staff required to carry out each task. Finally, the tasks are scheduled using bars and solid lines.

Gantt charts utilize bars to represent activities, and the width of each bar represents the duration of the task (Burke, 2010). Solid lines are drawn inside the bars to show the percentage of completed tasks. In the Gantt chart illustrated above, two activities have been completed, including acquiring facilities and hiring staff. This is indicated by the solid lines that have covered the whole bars representing the aforementioned tasks. The coaching task is the longest, but it represents the least percentage of completion. The width representing the task of web development is the shortest, indicating that the task takes the shortest duration, followed by the task of acquiring facilities.

Task 3: Monitoring to Achieve Quality

Quality standards are clear statements designed to enhance quality improvements that can be measured (Burke, 2010). The quality standards that will be implemented in the business are focused on customer service. Two of the quality standards are: Coaching should improve football skills of trainees; and coaching should enhance perfect health and fitness for clients. In order to implement these quality standards effectively, there should be effective quality systems made up of quality policies, procedures and activities.

In order to achieve higher grades in terms of quality in the new business, quality should be managed and monitored appropriately. Managing quality in the new business ensures that the quality of coaching satisfies the football and fitness needs of children. The management of quality will involve quality planning, quality assurance and quality control.

Quality planning involves identifying quality standards and means of attaining them. For example, the coaching activities should be of good quality according to the coaching profession. The manager of the business should check the coaching activities regularly to ensure that they are focused on the customers to improve their football skills, health and fitness.

The quality assurance is a process through which the management can ensure that the project is working according to the project requirements. Through the quality assurance process, the managers of the new business will evaluate the overall performance of the business to check whether all activities are complying with the required quality standards. The management will use a quality audit to determine the success of various activities in achieving the required quality standards. In case there is an activity that falls short of the quality standards, corrective action will be initiated.

Lastly, quality control focuses on specific tasks. It establishes whether the work outputs of each activity meet the quality standards of the business. Inspection should be carried out regularly within the training facilities as well as at schools to determine whether the pupils have improved their football skills. Furthermore, inspection can be carried out by health experts to determine the level of health and fitness of children after receiving coaching and exercise training within the business premises.

Quality culture of an organization refers to a set of values and norms that guide the actions of the organization in terms of quality (Gitlow, 2005). The new coaching business should develop appropriate quality procedures, principles and policies, and communicate them effectively across the business in order to develop an effective quality culture. Quality culture plays a crucial role in improving the performance of the business because it ensures that all employees work towards quality improvement in order to attract more customers. A clear quality culture also improves the perception of customers, enhances effective change management, and promotes collaboration and participation in the business.

The new coaching business is concerned with organisational performance. Quality culture can be linked with organisational performance by integrating quality to the organisational objectives, mission, strategy, individual objectives, unit objectives, and rewards and development within the organisation (Gitlow, 2005). For example, the objective of attracting 1,000 children for coaching within one year can be achieved by providing quality coaching to improve the football skills of children and enabling them to win football matches. The quality culture should be customer-focused in order to improve customer satisfaction (Sears, 2003). Quality culture enhances continuous improvement which is highly desired by customers; hence improving customer satisfaction.

Task 4: Managing Health and Safety at Work relating to Coaching and Instructing children

The new business should adhere to health and safety regulations when coaching and instructing children because football is one of the sports that are prone to injuries. Health and Safety should be managed appropriately by implementing policies and procedures that meet health and safety regulations and legislations (Chissick & Derricott, 1981). The company focuses on the provision of a healthy and safe working environment for the instructors and the children during training. In the case of the coaching and instructing activities, the customers are the ones who will most likely be affected because they face the potential of being injured during training.

One of the ways that Health and Safety regulations may be adhered that children should not be allowed to access electric devices e.g. sockets and naked electric wires. Electricity is dangerous and if children play with electric devices they may cause fire or electric shock at the training facilities. The training field should also be freed of any sharp object or unhealthy food. This will ensure that the customers are not subjected to pricking materials and diseases caused by unhealthy food. The training facilities should also be kept safe and healthy by regularly cleaning, renovating and improving them. Injuries in training can also be caused by foul play by the trainees. Training should therefore be carried out in the lightest and most friendly way possible in order to avoid injuries. The trainees should also be encouraged to avoid intentional rough play, warning them over potential eviction from training if they do so. Lastly, coaches and instructors should be trained on workplace health and safety. Training will ensure that everyone at the workplace understands the importance of health and safety, and the appropriate mechanisms of achieving a healthy and safe working environment in accordance with H&S regulations.

A good timetable is required to develop a regular review of the health and safety policies and procedures in order to ensure compliance and safety within the workplace at all times. The first activity is to develop appropriate health and safety policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures should be in line with the regulations on health and safety. Employees and customers should then be trained on the health and safety policies of the organisation that are relevant to them. The next step is to inspect training fields and facilities in order to ensure that they are safe and healthy. After the inspection, the H&S policies and procedures should be reviewed to ensure that they are still relevant to the changing environment (Fuller & Vassie, 2004). In case of there are changes required, such changes should be communicated to all stakeholders, and the customers and employees should be re-trained to reflect the changes. These activities should take place according to the dates shown in the table above so that health and safety of the business is enhanced at all times.

The health and safety risks of the business should be assessed as required employers in the UK (Great Britain, 2000). Preventive measures have also been put in place to counter the identified risks (Young & Tippins, 2000). Furthermore, responsible people are appointed to ensure that there is an effective implementation of protective and preventive measures within the organisation. Risk assessment sheet for the new business is provided in the appendices section.

One of the risks identified in the business is pierces and pricking by sharp objects. In this case, trainees and instructors may be pricked by sharp objects in the training field. This risk has been addressed through thorough inspection. The field has been inspected thoroughly to ensure that there are no sharp objects in the field. In future, regular inspection and advice for instructors and children will be offered to avoid bringing sharp objects to the field. This should be done by H&S Director in a timely manner.

Secondly, fire is a potential risk in the workplace of the new business. Children may cause fire by causing short circuits in the dressing room. Children have been instructed to avoid touching electric wires and sockets as a preventive measure against the occurrence of fire. In future, another preventive measure that may be implemented will be to locate electric wires and sockets away from children’s reach. This can be done by an electrician within a specified period of time.

Another type of risk that may occur is hamstring or Knee Injuries for the training children. Children may hurt themselves during training and cause injuries by falling accidentally or playing foul. One of the preventive measures against this risk is to train children to avoid playing foul. The company may also use a protective mechanism by giving victims medical attention (Hester & Harrison, 1998). Health Officers can perform the task of attending to victims.

Lastly, contracting diseases is a key risk that may occur at the workplace. In this case, children may become sick for eating unhealthy food or being exposed to dust and dirt. Healthy food have been provided and regularly inspected to ensure they are not expired as a preventive mechanism against potential diseases. In future, any dusty area around should be watered and any dirty place should be cleaned by cleaners.

References list

Burke, R. (2010). Fundamentals of project management: Tools and techniques. Ringwood: R.      Burke.

Chissick, S.S., & Derricott, R. (1981). Occupational health and safety management. Chichester:    J. Wiley.

Fuller, C., & Vassie, L.H. (2004). Health and safety management: Principles and best practice.     Harlow, England: Prentice Hall/Financial Times.

Gitlow, H.S. (2005). Quality management. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Great Britain. (2000). Successful health and safety management. Sudbury: HSE Books.

Hester, R.E., & Harrison, R.M. (1998). Risk assessment and risk management. Cambridge, UK:    Royal Society of Chemistry.

Kaplan, R.S., & Norton, D.P. (2001). The strategy-focused organization: How balanced    scorecard companies thrive in the new business environment. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press.

Peterson, M.W., Dill, D.D., & Mets, L.A. (1997). Planning and management for a changing         environment: A handbook on redesigning postsecondary institutions. San Francisco:         Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Sears, D. (2003). Successful talent strategies: Achieving superior business results through   market-focused staffing. New York: AMACOM.

Young, P.C., & Tippins, S.C. (2000). Managing business risk: An organization-wide approach      to risk management. New York: AMACOM.

 

Appendices

Appendix 1: Health and Safety Policy

This is the statement of general policy and arrangements for: Coaching Company
Overall and final responsibility for health and safety is that of: Coaching Company
Day-to-day responsibility for ensuring this policy is put into practice is delegated to: H&R Director
Statement of general policy

 

Responsibility of: Name/Title Action/Arrangements (customise to meet your own situation)

 

To prevent accidents and cases of work-related ill health and provide adequate control of health and safety risks arising from work activities. Peter John

 

Eliminate all sharp objects and train players on how to play in a friendly way
To provide adequate training to ensure employees are competent to do their work.

 

Kamau Steve Employees are assembled regularly in training room and provided with training bulletins and asked to discuss the policies and procedures of the company regarding safety and health.
To engage and consult with employees on day-to-day health and safety conditions and provide advice and supervision on occupational health. Jane Porter Communicate effectively through emails or face-to-face.
To implement emergency procedures – evacuation in case of fire or other significant incident. Luke Trevor Assembly ground is provided for cases of such safety issues as fire; an alarm is put on when such a risk occurs so that everyone can assemble. Evacuation team should be directed accordingly.
To maintain safe and healthy working conditions, provide and maintain plant, equipment and machinery, and ensure safe storage/use of substances. Elizabeth Tom Inspection of training and coaching equipment and facilities, and a safe room is allocated for storage.

 

What are the hazards?

 

Who might be harmed and how?

 

What are you already doing?

 

What further action is necessary?

 

Action by Who?

 

Action by when?

 

Done

 

Pierces and pricking by sharp objects Trainees and instructors may be pricked by sharp objects in the training field. Thorough inspection. The field has been inspected thoroughly to ensure that there are no sharp objects in the field. Regular inspection and advice for instructors and children to avoid bringing sharp objects to the field. H&S Director 6/2/2015 6/2/2015
Fire

 

Children may cause fire by causing short circuits in the dressing room Children have been instructed to avoid touching electric wires and sockets. Electric wires and sockets should be located away from children’s reach Electrician 20/2/2015 20/2/2015
Hamstring or Knee Injuries

 

Children may hurt themselves during training and cause injuries by falling accidentally or playing foul Training children to avoid playing foul. Attending to accidental injuries medically. Health Officers 25/2/2015 25/2/2015
Contracting diseases Children may become sick for eating unhealthy food or being exposed to dust and dirt Healthy food are provided and regularly inspected to ensure they are not expired Any dusty area around should be watered and any dirty place should be cleaned Cleaner 1/3/2015 1/3/2015

Appendix 2: Risk Assessment

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